U.s. Issues Gtravel Alert, Will Close Embassies Due To Al Qaeda Threat

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A State Department travel alert Friday said al Qaeda may launch attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond, as the United States is closing 21 embassies and consulates Sunday as a precaution.
"Current information suggests that al Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," said the alert, which covers the entire month.
It warned that "terrorists may elect to use a variety of means and weapons and target both official and private interests."
A separate State Department list showed the 21 embassies and consulates that will close on Sunday, normally the start of the work week in the countries affected.
They included embassies in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Yemen and 11 other countries, as well as consulates in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Other embassies to be closed were in the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Jordan, Djibouti, Bangladesh, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Mauritania and Sudan.
A senior State Department official said the agency told the diplomatic facilities to close Sunday, normally the beginning of the work week, and that additional days could be added. The U.S. Embassy in Israel also will be closed as normal on Sunday.
Embassies and consulates in the region are for the most part closed or operate with minimal staff on Fridays and Saturdays.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters that House leadership had been briefed on the situation, and that the travel alert and embassy closings provided "some understanding of the seriousness of the threat."
Rep. Ed Royce told CNN's "New Day" on Friday that Al Qaeda was linked to a terror threat that prompted the embassy closings.
"It's my understanding that it is al Qaeda-linked, all right, and the threat emanates in the Middle East and in Central Asia," said Royce, a California Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
On Thursday, a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly about the matter called the threat "credible and serious."
It was "directed at American targets overseas," but may not be confined to main diplomatic facilities, the official said.
Separately, another U.S. official told CNN that the Obama administration is monitoring threats against the embassy in Sanaa, Yemen.
President Barack Obama met with Yemeni President Abdo Rabu Mansour Hadi at the White House on Thursday. Yemen has been cracking down on al Qaeda.
A U.S. official earlier told CNN the embassy closures were because of "more than the usual chatter" about a potential terrorist threat, which was not specific about time and location.
Officials said the time frame comes with the approaching end of Ramadan and the first anniversary of the terror attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the agency was taking the steps at diplomatic sites out of an abundance of caution.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo noted on its website media reports of possible marches or demonstrations Friday and possibly throughout the weekend.

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[b] U.S. issues global travel alert, [/b]


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